Today we had our first major highlight – The Masai Mara!!!! This was the group’s first experience of the African wild. On the way to the Mara we stopped at a Maasai village and were welcomed by the friendly Maasai Moran (warriors), who danced for us and then showed us their impressive high jumping which is done to impress women.
The guys on the trip joined in with the jumping competition! We were then invited into a Maasai manyatta to learn about how the Maasai live with their cattle inside their homes, and we had ago at lighting a fire the traditional way – with sticks.
We then headed into the Maasai Mara to see what we could find! It’s very dry, the grass is long but golden brown, and the views are breath-taking. We saw zebra, elephant, Thomson’s gazelle, impala, wildebeest, topi and Coke’s hartebeest. . Then we spotted two cheetahs lazing under a tree – wow! For many on the trip it was the first time they had seen animals like this in the wild, so gasps of delight and amazement accompanied the camera clicks!
As the sun sank towards the horizon we headed to Aruba camp on the edge of the Talek River. After a yummy dinner, we sat and talk to the Maasai askari’s (security guards) before heading to the bar for a few laughs over a some Tusker Baridi’s (cold beers)